Football

For the third time in eight years, a new head coach will roam the sidelines for Florida Gators football when it begins the 2018 season on Saturday against Charleston Southern. And for the third time in eight years, there is renewed hope and raised expectations among fans for Florida to return to its once-annual place as a legitimate presence in the national college football landscape.

While it goes without saying that the Gators have languished in mediocrity since the departure of Urban Meyer following the 2010 season, it is worth noting why. A combination of poor hiring (at every level in the organization), roster management, player development and recruiting made Florida into an eye-roll in the national conversation.

Sure, UF could compete in — and win — the SEC East, a division that became a shell of its former self and has seen five new hires among its seven teams over the last two offseasons. But any time Florida was tested by any semblance of legitimate opponent, whether in the SEC Championship Game or a big nonconference showdown, the Gators got crushed.

Forget the team even being a shell of its former self — a program with an explosive offense, ferocious defense and dominant special teams — Florida was consistently undermanned, outsized and ill-prepared to compete with the big boys in the SEC and beyond. Not for a season but the better part of a decade.

Will Muschamp could not decide on an offensive philosophy, maintain a consistent staff or avoid occasions of bad luck. Jim McElwain could not shake the feeling among those around the program that he was a used car salesman with a whistle around his neck, and no one could deny that he sold the Gators a lemon. For all shine Muschamp provided in terms of Florida’s roster, McElwain let it rust and decay to the point that the engine started sputtering and the car could barely get off the line.

Dan Mullen is neither Muschamp nor McElwain. He’s an experienced, SEC-seasoned head coach that understands the cumulative value of having players, staff and fans buying into a singular mindset of what it takes to build a successful program. And most importantly for the Gators, he’s not only been successful throughout his career, he had already been successful in Gainesville before he stepped off the plane.

For all of the flirtations with Chip Kelly and Scott Frost, it always made the most sense for Florida and new athletic director Scott Stricklin to go with the man they knew best. And despite all of his flirtations with other programs throughout the years, it always made the most sense for Mullen to stay at Mississippi State until the Gators came calling (like they probably should have seven years earlier).

Mullen just fits — like Meyer did 13 years ago. He understands the tradition and pageantry of the program. He knows what it takes to win at a high level, particularly in the SEC. He built his initial coaching staff by bringing in men with whom he worked and trusted. He knew from the start that Florida had fallen behind in its strength & conditioning to an embarrassing level. And most importantly, he not only remembered what coaching the Gators felt like the last time he donned orange and blue but allowed fans to recall what they felt like the last time Mullen was roaming the sidelines at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.

It is for those reasons that Mullen has repeated these facts literally every time he’s spoken publicly over the last nine months. More than likely, Mullen has called back to his past in Gainesville while visiting homes of recruits hoping to lure them to Gainesville as UF’s stars of the future.

Mullen’s focus is not building a program from the ground up like he did in Mississippi State. He’s renovating Florida football, retaining the strong brick-laden foundation, pressure washing the surfaces, knocking down walls and clearing out the accumulated crap that has held the Gators back from reclaiming a level of national prestige not truly seen by the program in a decade.

There is no guarantee it will work. After all, there are no guarantees in life. The rebuilding SEC East includes a Georgia team that looks more dominant than it has in decades. Tennessee has an opportunity to once again be a legitimate contender sometime soon. Muschamp has done a fantastic job building on the foundation laid by Steve Spurrier at South Carolina.

It will certainly take more than 12 or 13 — or if Florida is particularly lucky, 14 — games. But there should be little doubt that Florida football is operating differently after just one offseason of Mullen’s influence.

The Gators still had some of their swagger under Muschamp, but they have renewed confidence under Mullen. Florida appears to be poised and professional, ready to get back to playing winning football — not in terms of game outcomes but rather doing what it takes to be successful on a week-by-week, day-by-day, play-by-play basis.

Under Mullen, the Gators need only to look to their past to remember how bright their future can be.

6 Comments

I truly don’t get why Mullen is held in such high regard. He went 2-27 vs ranked opponents and finished higher than 4th in the West once in ten years at Miss St. You’d think a great coach would come up with a way to beat a better team once in a while. Bama was dominant during that period, but LSU, Auburn, Ole Miss, and the rest all had their turns of mediocrity. We’re currently 11th in the SEC in recruiting for 2019 too. We’ll see what happens, but my money is on us talking about the next Gator head coach in 4 years unless we just decide that 8-4 mediocrity is the best we can do.

We don’t have to win a National Championship, an SEC championship, or even an East division title every year for me to be happy. I just want us to be the Gators again. Play proud and hard and with courage and heart. And classy. Mullen is classy. We Gators we classy once too.

Excellent article, Adam. And I loved the photo. I have kept thinking about when he got off the plane and gave the Gator chomp. It was obvious from that moment that he was a man with a plan and was excited and raring to go. It was just what we long-suffering fans needed. As you said, he is a proven commodity and I am excited for the season. Hoping the better conditioning and coaching makes a significant impact. There is a lot of talent on this team and I am surprised that I see so many articles rating the Gators at 7-5 to 8-4. The RB, WR and defensive back positions are loaded. If the whole team can execute and believe, why can’t we dream big. Let’s Go Gators!

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